The present invention relates to a mixer and particularly, to a novel screw or auger flighting structure including an angled cutting knife mounted on the top end portion of the flighting structure, a deflector plate mounted on the lower end portion of the flighting structure, and a novel container tub all which facilitate the cutting, the feeding, and the mixing of the hay bales or other fibrous material in the mixer.
Mixers utilizing a single conical processing screw or auger flighting rotating within a container tub are known in the art. Such auger flightings generally may include cutting knives mounted radially outwardly from the flighting with the upper last turn of the auger flighting portion containing a plurality of knives extending perpendicularly upwardly from the plane of the flighting. The purpose of the perpendicularly extending knives is to cut the raw material bales into smaller pieces or chunks to facilitate mixing of the material by the lower auger flighting portion. However, the perpendicular upward extending knives or blades often times engage the bales of material and bounces the bales off the container tub thereby intercepting the mixing operation.
Furthermore, when such prior art mixers are used to process fibrous materials having a high moisture content, such as wet silage or wet hay, the wet material tends to compact against the wall of the container tub away from the rotating auger flighting thereby ultimately clogging and stalling the mixer.